BHOPAL: The contest between former chief minister Digvijaya Singh and Sadhvi Pragya Thakur has turned into a battle of two ideologies. The city has never seen such an election fray. The Congress and the BJP may be seen fight on the ground, but strategies are being chalked out elsewhere. The people with Left ideology have visited the state capital to seek vote for Digvijaya Singh, and people with nationalist thought are working for Pragya.
Nevertheless, those who have come to seek vote for Singh are putting their points through journalists and intellectuals. They are attacking the BJP because Pragya has been an accused in Malegaon blast. So Bhopal has turned into a pivot around which the discussion on intolerance has got a voice. Such discussion began after the BJP assumed power at the Centre. The RSS members who are supporting Pragya are laying emphasis on the fact that it is the Congress that has been defaming the Hindus in the name of saffron terror as part of a big conspiracy. And they hardly shy away from saying that Singh was behind that plot.
Though their visit has hardly had any impact on voters, an ideological warfare has broken out in the city. A team from JNU is working for Singh and a team of RSS has opened a front against the Congress. When Singh began his campaigning from temples, nobody realised that the contest would assume an ideological colour.
Javed, Swara campaign for Diggi
Poet Javed Akhtar, Swara Bhaskar, Swami Agnivesh, lawyer AP Singh, Sitaram Yechuri and Hardik Patel spoke in favour of Digvijaya Singh. Kanhaiya Kumar was to come to the city to campaign for Singh, but his visit was cancelled.
Mani, Singh speak for Pragya
People like former home secretary RS Mani, former director of RAW RSN Singh, journalist Pushpendra Kulshresht and script writer Rajeen Pandey visited the city to speak for Pragya Thakur. Books were also released as part of the campaign.
